Davis and I walked to Howards to check out the toys. We stopped off at the magazine stand. It was filled with all manner of magazines from the day (for ma and pa) and a small wedge of comic books for kids. We started going through them. Being the veteran Davis knew what he was looking for, but I had no idea. In short order I found a Green Lantern/Green Arrow comics (I think it was issue 93) and opened it up to what later became the very familiar smell of newsprint comics. A whole world opened up in front of me and I was hooked.
After that it was where ever you could get comics, the grocery store, book store, even convenience stores. There was no pre-ordering that I recall. You just hit the shop and hoped for the best.
After Rucker we moved to Campbell in Kentucky and the comic store there was this small basement beneath the garage shop with hanging light fixtures and stone floors. I remember opening the new comics and perusing them. There was always a rush of anticipation an excitement. This jumbled mix of emotions that each comic unleashed. It was complicated because the comic stand became the place to hang out while I was waiting for my mom to do whatever she was doing (groceries, clothes, etc). You flipped through them, checking out new art, stories, new comics. And it was all yours. No one to judge you or judge the comics. No rush to find out more about the writers, the company, the reviews...there was none of that because it didn't exist. The comic in your hand was all you had and good or bad, it was pretty cool.
There was, and for me (probably because I'm not 10 years old), no other experience quite like opening a comic at the comic stand and plunging into it.
For the briefest moment this morning, I felt it all over again. Its nice to wax nostalgic once in awhile.
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